Cup and Plate Combination Dish

ABSTRACT

The cup and plate combination dish is an apparatus which allows a user to carry both a beverage and a food item with only one hand, freeing the other hand to perform other actions. The apparatus comprises a cup, a plate, a handle, and a straw hole. The cup stores the beverage for consumption by the user, and the plate allows the user to store the food item on the apparatus. The plate snaps onto the cup, making the apparatus one complete item while still allowing the cup and plate to be separated. The handle extends off one side of the cup, allowing the user to carry the apparatus. The handle also serves to provide the user access to the beverage stored within the cup. The straw hole traverses through the handle and side of the cup and the user inserts a straw through the handle and into the cup.

The current application claims a priority to the U.S. Provisional Patentapplication Ser. No. 61/551,355 filed on Oct. 25, 2011.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to food and drink receptacles.More specifically, the present invention is a cup and plate combinationdish which allows the user to carry food and drink simultaneously whileusing only one hand.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In order to contain sustenance such as food and drink for immediateconsumption, many apparatuses such as plates and cups have beendeveloped and created. The plate and the cup allow a user torespectively carry food and drink in a way that is both sanitary andfacilitates consumption of the food and drink that has been contained.Social functions such as parties often serve the attendees food anddrink on cups and plates. This can become a problem as most cups andplates are separate from one another, meaning that in order to carryboth a cup and a plate at the same time, two hands are needed. When bothhands are used to carry items, no hand remains available for the user toeat with, forcing the user to attempt to find a place to rest their cupand or plate. At a social event such as a party, there are few areaswhere seating and or tables are present for use by the patrons.Additionally, when the cup is set down, the user runs the risk of havingthe cup knocked over and the beverage expelled from the cup. It is anobject of the present invention to solve the issues discussed above byproviding a cup and plate combination dish which can be carried withonly one hand, thus eliminating the need to set down the device toconsume the food and drink contained by the device.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the completely assembled presentinvention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the cup of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the plate of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a right side view of the cup and plate of the presentinvention with a section cut marked as reference for FIG. 5.

FIG. 5 is a front sectional view of the present invention as defined bythe reference markings found in FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is a right side view of the second embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 7 is a right side view

DETAILED DESCRIPTIONS OF THE INVENTION

All illustrations of the drawings are for the purpose of describingselected versions of the present invention and are not intended to limitthe scope of the present invention.

In reference to FIG. 1, the present invention is cup and platecombination dish which comprises a cup 1, a plate 2, a handle 3, a strawhole 4, and a drinking straw 5. The cup and plate combination dishallows the user to carry both a beverage and a food item with only onehand, thus freeing the other hand to carry out auxiliary tasks such asgreeting people or consuming the food item. The present invention isideal for situations where the user is moving around while carryingtheir food and drink, or where seating is limited. A party or otherlarge social function is a perfect example of a situation that may arisewhere the user needs to carry their food and drink with them. In thissituation, the present invention solves the problem of needing two handsto carry both food and drink. The cup 1 is attached to the bottom of theplate 2 by way of the cup snap lip 13 engaging with the plate snap lip22. This attachment between the cup 1 and plate 2 secures the twocomponents together while still allowing the cup 1 and plate 2 to beseparated from one another if the user desires to do so. It is importantthat the plate 2 be separable from the cup 1 to facilitate the userdepositing a beverage in the liquid retaining volume 14 of the cup 1.

The cup 1, which can be seen in FIG. 2, is the component which allowsthe user to contain and carry a beverage using the present invention.The cup 1 comprises a bottom surface 11, a cup wall 12, a cup snap lip13, and a liquid retaining volume 14. The plate 2 comprises a platesurface 21, and a plate snap lip 22. The cup wall 12 is connectedperpendicularly to the bottom surface 11 such that the liquid retainingvolume 14 is formed by the unification of the bottom surface 11 and thecup wall 12. The liquid beverage resides within the liquid retainingvolume 14 when the present invention is in use. The cup snap lip 13 islocated at the top of the cup wall 12. The cup snap lip 13 is connectedto the cup wall 12, encircling the perimeter at the top of the cup wall.The cup snap lip 13 provides the means by which the cup 1 is attached tothe plate 2 when the present invention is in use. When the cup 1 isattached to the plate 2, the plate 2 doubles as a lid for the cup 1 andcovers the large opening at the top of the cup 1. Thus the portabilityof the cup and plate combination dish is increased as the user maydisplace with minimum threat of spilling their beverage.

In reference to FIG. 3, the plate surface 21 is of sufficient size toallow the user to rest the food item on the plate surface 21. The platesurface 21 may be circular as in the preferred embodiment, or the platesurface 21 may be of any shape suitable for carrying the food item. Asquare shape for example functions as adequately as a circle does forthe plate surface 21. Connected to the bottom of the plate 2 is theplate snap lip 22. The plate snap lip 22 is a small protrusion off thebottom of the plate surface 21; the plate snap lip 22 is shaped suchthat when the plate snap lip 22 is brought in contact with the cup snaplip 13, the plate 2 and the cup 1 are attached together, forming oneitem. FIG. 5 illustrates the engagement between the cup snap lip and theplate snap lip.

The handle 3, which can be seen in FIG. 1, allows the user toeffectively hold the cup and plate combination dish with only one hand.The handle 3 also serves as a conduit into the bottom of the cup 1,providing the user with a place to insert the drinking straw 5. Thedrinking straw 5 allows the user to consume the beverage that iscontained within the liquid retaining volume 14. The angled section 31of the handle 3 connects to the cup wall 12 adjacent to the bottomsurface 11, as indicated by the proximity of the connection to thebottom surface 11 of the cup 1. As can be seen in FIG. 1, the angledsection 31 departs from the cup wall 12 at an angle, and thus the angledsection 31 extends outwards and upwards away from the cup wall 12. Thesupport section 32 of the handle 3 connects the angled section 31 to thecup wall 12 near the cup snap lip 13. Together, the angled section 31and the support section 32 form a loop onto which the user may grasp,thus providing the user with a means to effectively hold on to and carrythe present invention.

The straw hole 4 traverses down through the angled section 31 of thehandle 3 as well as through the cup wall 12, opening into the liquidretaining volume 14 of the cup 1. The straw hole 4 accommodates thedrinking straw 5. The drinking straw 5 is inserted down through thestraw hole 4 where the drinking straw 5 enters the beverage containedwithin the liquid retaining volume 14 when the present invention is inuse. The drinking straw 5 is a long thin walled tube. Straws are incommon use throughout the food service industry, especially in fast foodrestaurants, and as a result, a wide range of different sizes of strawcan be used in conjunction with the present invention. The drinkingstraw 5 allows the user to drink the liquid that is contained within thecup 1 without necessitating displacement of the plate 2 or food item onthe plate 2. Thus, the user is afforded the advantage of drinking thebeverage and eating the food item while holding the present inventionwith one hand.

In a second embodiment of the present invention, the handle 3additionally functions as a straw to transport the beverage as opposedto the drinking straw 5 being inserted into the liquid retaining volume14 through the handle 3. To accomplish this, the second embodiment ofthe present invention has an additional component comprising the handle3. The additional component of the handle 3 is a straw protrusion 35comprising a flexible joint 36, a first portion 37, and a second portion38. The first portion 37 is connected to the angled section 31 of thehandle 3, effectively increasing the length of the angled section 31beyond the plate surface 21 as can be seen in FIG. 5. The flexible joint36 is connected to the first portion 37 opposite where the first portion37 and the angled section 31 are connected. The second portion 38 isconnected to the flexible joint opposite the first portion 37. In thisway, the first portion 37 and second portion 38 of the straw protrusion35 are linked to one another by commonality of the connection to theflexible joint 36, as is shown in FIG. 7. Through the connectionprovided by the flexible joint 36, the second portion 38 of the strawprotrusion 35 is afforded the capability to bend in a range ofdirections relative to the rigidly connected angled section 31 and firstportion 37. The user is able to bend the second portion 38 of the strawprotrusion 35 to an angle that is most suitable for efficient drinkingfrom the present invention. The second embodiment of the presentinvention allows the user to easily consume the beverage containedwithin the liquid retaining volume 14 through the use of the strawprotrusion 35 which has effectively turned the handle 3 of the presentinvention into an integrated straw. Having the straw integrated into thehandle 3 adds the advantage to the present invention of having no looseparts which can become separated from the bulk of the present invention.In the first embodiment of the present invention, the drinking straw 5is not physically connected to the rest of the present invention.Whereas in the second embodiment of the present invention, the drinkingstraw 5 is integrated into the handle 3 as the straw protrusion 35. Thecomponents necessary for consumption of the beverage by the user arethus prevented from being separated from the rest of the presentinvention. This increases the portability of the cup and platecombination dish as the user may now move around without the risk oflosing their drinking straw 5 and becoming unable to drink theirbeverage until a new drinking straw 5 is obtained.

Although the invention has been explained in relation to its preferredembodiment, it is to be understood that many other possiblemodifications and variations can be made without departing from thespirit and scope of the invention as hereinafter claimed.

What is claimed is:
 1. A cup and plate combination dish comprises, acup; a plate; a handle; a straw hole; a drinking straw; the cupcomprises a bottom surface, a cup wall, a cup snap lip, and a liquidretaining volume; the plate comprises a plate surface, and a plate snaplip; the handle comprises an angled section, and a support section; thecup being positioned below the plate; and the cup being attachedunderneath the plate.
 2. The cup and plate combination dish as claimedin claim 1 comprises, the plate snap lip being engaged by the cup snaplip.
 3. The cup and plate combination dish as claimed in claim 1comprises, the cup wall being connected perpendicularly to the bottomsurface; the cup wall being encircled by the cup snap lip opposite thebottom surface; and the liquid retaining volume being delineated by thebottom surface and the cup wall.
 4. The cup and plate combination dishas claimed in claim 1 comprises, the plate snap lip being positionedconcentrically below the plate surface.
 5. The cup and plate combinationdish as claimed in claim 1 comprises, the angled section being connectedto the cup wall adjacent to the bottom surface; and the support sectionbeing connected between the cup wall and the angled section adjacent tothe cup snap lip.
 6. The cup and plate combination dish as claimed inclaim 1 comprises, the straw hole traversing through the angled sectionand the cup wall; and the drinking straw traversing through the strawhole and traversing into the liquid retaining volume.
 7. A cup and platecombination dish comprises, a cup; a plate; a handle; a straw hole; thecup comprises a bottom surface, a cup wall, a cup snap lip, and a liquidretaining volume; the plate comprises a plate surface and a plate snaplip; the handle comprises an angled section, a support section, and adrinking straw protrusion; the drinking straw protrusion comprises aflexible joint, a first portion, and a second portion; the cup beingpositioned below the plate; and the cup being attached underneath theplate.
 8. The cup and plate combination dish as claimed in claim 7comprises, the cup snap lip being engaged with the plate snap lip. 9.The cup and plate combination dish as claimed in claim 7 comprises, thecup wall being connected perpendicularly to the bottom surface; and thecup wall being encircled by the cup snap lip opposite the bottomsurface; and the liquid retaining volume being delineated by the bottomsurface and the cup wall.
 10. The cup and plate combination dish asclaimed in claim 7 comprises, the plate snap lip being positionedconcentrically below the plate surface.
 11. The cup and platecombination dish as claimed in claim 7 comprises, the angled sectionconnected to the cup wall adjacent to the bottom surface; the supportsection being connected between the cup wall and the angled sectionadjacent to the cup snap lip; the first portion connected to the angledsection adjacent to the support section; the flexible joint connected tothe first portion; and the second portion connected to the flexiblejoint opposite the first portion.
 12. The cup and plate combination dishas claimed in claim 7 comprises, the straw hole traversing through thefirst portion, the flexible joint, the second portion, the angledsection, and the cup wall.
 13. A cup and plate combination dishcomprises, a cup; a plate; a handle; a straw hole; a drinking straw; thecup comprises a bottom surface, a cup wall, a cup snap lip, and a liquidretaining volume; the plate comprises a plate surface, and a plate snaplip; the handle comprises an angled section, and a support section; thecup being positioned below the plate; the cup being attached underneaththe plate; the cup wall being encircled by the cup snap lip opposite thebottom surface; the plate snap lip being positioned concentricallybeneath the plate surface; the cup snap lip being engaged with the platesnap lip; the straw hole traversing through the angled section, and thecup wall; and the drinking straw traversing through the straw hole andtraversing into the liquid retaining volume.
 14. The cup and platecombination dish as claimed in claim 13 comprises, the cup wall beingconnected perpendicularly to the bottom surface; the liquid retainingvolume being delineated by the bottom surface and the cup wall.
 15. Thecup and plate combination dish as claimed in claim 13 comprises, theangled section being connected to the cup wall adjacent to the bottomsurface; and